difficult
to be described. Behold me, then, forced to abandon the men who had
devoted themselves to me. Behold me deprived of the means of making
known in my defense my views and my intentions. Behold me receiving a
so-called favor from him upon whom I had wished to inflict the greatest
evil. I vented my sorrow in complaints and regrets. I could only
protest.

"The two officers who conducted me were two officers of the Empire,
intimate friends of M. Parguin. Thus they treated me with the kindest
attentions. I could have thought myself travelling with friends. Upon
the 11th, at two o'clock in the morning, I arrived at Paris, at the
hotel of the Prefecture of Police. M. Delessat was very polite to me. He
informed me that you had come to France to claim in my favor the
clemency of the king, and that I was to start again in two hours for
Lorient, and that thence I was to sail for the United States in a French
frigate.

"I said to the prefect that I was in despair in not being permitted to
share the fate of my companions in misfortune; that being thus withdrawn
from prison before undergoing a general examination (the first had been
only a summary one), I was deprived of the means of testifying to many
facts in favor of the accused. But my protestations were unavailing. I
decided to write to the king. And I said to him that, having been cast
into prison after having taken up arms against his Government, I dreaded
but one thing, and that was his generosity, since it would deprive me of
my sweetest consolation, the possibility of sharing the fate of my
companions in misfortune. I added that life itself was of little value
to me; but that my gratitude to him would be great if he would spare the
lives of a few old soldiers, the remains of our ancient army, who had
been enticed by me, and seduced by glorious souvenirs.

"At the same time I wrote to M. Odillon Barrot[N] the letter which I
send with this, begging him to take charge of the defense of Colonel
Vaudrey. At four o'clock I resumed my journey, with the same escort, and
on the 14th we arrived at the citadel of Port Louis, near Lorient. I
remained there until the twenty-first day of November, when the frigate
was ready for sea.

[Footnote N: A distinguished advocate in Paris.]

"After having entreated M. Odillon Barrot to assume the defense of the
accused, and in particular of Colonel Vaudrey, I added:

"'Monsieur, notwithstanding my desire to remain with my companio